In commercial and industrial constructions, horizontally running pipe systems are most commonly supported using a series of U-shaped pipe supporting members, such as clevis hangers, affixed to the ceiling or to any other overhead surface, and disposed at variable distances.
The pipe conduits often convey material at a temperature substantially higher or lower from the ambient temperature. In such cases, the pipe conduits usually require thermal insulation in order to prevent changes in the temperature of the conveyed material, due to heat transfer occurring at the pipe surface. Thermal insulation is also very effective in preventing the formation of condensation at the surface of the pipe in the case where the conveyed fluid material is colder than the ambient temperature, thereby avoiding premature rusting of the components of the pipe supporting system as well as water drops falling to the ground in the case of constructions where pipe systems are visible, e.g. warehouses, underground parking lots, or the like.
In the above-mentioned configuration, the pipe or the thermal insulation envelope covering the pipe usually rests directly on the U-shaped metal strips of the supporting members, which creates several problems, mostly caused by the sharp edges of the U-shaped metal strips and their relatively narrow width.
Firstly, when a thermal insulation envelope covers a pipe, traditional U-shaped pipe supporting members tend to crush the insulation layer at the support points. This is mostly due to the usual fragility of commonly used pipe insulation material and to the pressure being applied over a narrow contact surface between a support and the insulated pipe. This crushing of the insulation material causes a decrease in the thickness of the insulation layer of the pipe, negatively impacting on the overall insulation of the pipe. Furthermore, friction and vibration, which always occur at the support points, further degrade the insulation and can lead to rupture in the insulation envelope which further reduces the insulation of the pipe system. The reduction in insulation is often exacerbated by the conductive heat transfer between the pipe and the holder, since both components are often made of heat conductive material.
In addition, subsequent installation or replacement of thermal insulation over a length of pipe often proves to be a long and arduous job for workers attending to these tasks. The common method for installing an insulated pipe usually involves two steps. In the first step, a technician secures the U-shaped supporting members to the overhead surface and inserts the section of pipes in the supporting members. In the second step, an insulation technician covers the pipes with an insulation layer. In this last step, the supporting members cause difficulties as they prevent the sliding of the insulation layer on the pipes at the contact points.
Moreover, even pipe systems that do not have a thermal insulation layer suffer from setbacks caused by the use of traditional U-shaped pipe supports alone. Indeed, thermal expansion and contraction, as well as friction and vibration, can cause degradation of the structure of the pipe at the support points, which can lead to leakage of the conveyed material.
Another problem commonly encountered by pipe support technicians resides in the maintenance of the integrity of a pipe support system. Indeed, the support systems known in the art do not offer an easy and efficient solution to check whether a particular pipe support was affected by an abnormal shock imposed on the pipe system. For example, such abnormal shock could be the result of an earthquake or a water hammer. In the current state of things, following such an event, a technician would need to verify the integrity of every support one by one, as there is no flagging system for indicating which supports were subjected to a force beyond a predetermined threshold. Such a task has proved to be tiresome and time consuming.
A known method to overcome some of the drawbacks listed above is to affix a U-shaped pipe saddle, between the pipe and the U-shaped metal strip of the pipe supporting members at each support point, thereby widening the contact surface between a pipe (covered by an insulated layer or not) and the supports. The above-mentioned pipe saddle can be made of different materials, such as plastic or metal, and be affixed or held in place onto the support using different techniques, such as soldering in the case of a metal saddle, or clipping/gluing in the case of a plastic saddle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,025, by Alvarez, discloses such a pipe saddle that can be used in combination with clevis hanger pipe supports. The invention discussed in the Alvarez patent also discloses means for locking the pipe saddle into place and preventing horizontal movement of the saddle. Such a solution solves some of the above-mentioned concerns by providing a larger contact surface locked onto the supporting member. In this document, the discussed attachment and movement prevention means are however limited to the bottom portion of the saddle and therefore do not offer optimal prevention of horizontal movements of the saddle. The solution proposed in the Alvarez patent do not provide any solution to the shock detection issue.
Another pipe support saddle known to the Applicant is the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,744,041. The document however teaches a pipe support to be used with vertically extending pipes, its design and components therefore not being optimized for the support of horizontally extending pipe systems. Once again, the proposed solution does not offer any solution for easy detection of abnormal shocks.
Other solutions such as the pipe insulation coupling member proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,527 also offer a solution for preventing premature deterioration of the insulated layer of a pipe system. However, the insulation coupling member of this particular solution is meant to retain adjacent ends of the insulation tubing against one another, therefore requiring that separate insulation tubes be used between each coupling member. This requirement complexifies the installation of the insulation layer over the pipes, which is highly undesirable. Again, no shock detection solution is provided with the device described in this document.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for an improved pipe support which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome or at least minimize some of the above-discussed prior art concerns.